Method of manufacturing cartridge-shells.



G. A. BAILEY.

METHOD OF MANUPAOTURING CARTRIDGE SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1910.

. 977,497. Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

CHARLES A. BAILEY, OF GROMWELL, CONNECTICUT.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING CARTRIDGE-SHELLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

Application filed August 3, 1910. Serial No. 575,300.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BAILEY, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Cromwell, in the county of Middlesex and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMethods of Manufacturing Cartridge-Shells, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to the art of manufacturing cartridge-shells andmore especially to that class thereof which comprise paper tubesprovided with caps or heads in which the primers are disposed, so thatafter the shell is thus complete, the same may be loaded with powder andshot by subsequent operations. 7

My invention has for its object an im proved method of manufacturingthese shells or rather in assembling the shell proper with the cap orhead, the base-wad, and the primer, all these several operations takingplace without removing the paper shell from its holder.

The invention has, furthermore, for its object the improved method ofassembling the shell or rather the firm embodiment of the base-wad inthe shell-head as will hereinafter appear, and is clearly illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which similar characters denote similarparts, and in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the papershell which constitutes one element of the complete article. Fig. 2. isan end view thereof. Fig. 3 illustrates the first operation, namely:that of inserting the base-wad within the shell. Fig. at shows the nextoperation and illustrates the manner in which the head end of the shellis crimped or reduced so as to adapt the same for reception of the cap.Fig. 5 shows the shell supplied with the metal cap or head. Fig. (3illustrates the base-wad compressed and also pierced for the receptionof the primer and Fig. 7 shows the entire cartridge-shell complete, sothat it now consists of the paper shell, the cap or head, the base-wadand the primer, all of these parts being firmly and rigidly heldrelatively to each other.

Briefly stated, the present in ention has for its object the provisionof a method whereby cartridge-shells of the species above cited, may bemanufactured accurately and expeditiously, and without requiring thewithdrawal and reinsertion of the shell from and into the holder throughthe entire proceeding of the assembling of the several parts of whichthe shell is finally composed.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the shell 10 consistsof a plain cylindrical tube made of paper or fiber. This tube isinserted in a holder H indicated by dotted and dash lines in all of thesteps through which the shell has to pass in order to be complete. Itwill be noted that the head-end of the shell projects out for somedistance beyond the front face of the holder H so as to permit themanipulation of that end without in any way aifecting the other portionsof the shell. Cooperative with the holder H 1s a base or backing plate Bagainst which the rear end of the shell rests during the manipulation ofits front end.

Referring to Fig. 3, the shell 10 contains the base-wad 11 which here isin its normal or comparatively loose condition, and which has beeninserted into place by a plunger P, the wad 11 being preferably enteredinto the shell 10 far enough to serve as filler whereby the shell ismaintained in its normal condition during the crimping or reducingoperation which affects the front end of the shell only, the amount ofsaid reduction being just sufficient to permit the metal cap or head tobe placed thereon. It should be remembered that in cartridge-shells ofthis nature, the outside diameter of the shell and also of the metal capshould be substantially the same so that the shell may be readilyinserted into the barrel of the gun. Hence,

it will be understood that this reduction will be comparatively triflingas is clearly seen in Fig. 4, in which the head-end 10 is shown thusslightly reduced by means of a hollow reducing die R the forward end ofwhich is slightly tapered so as to pass readily over the end of theshell, while at the same time, the plunger P can now serve as a mandrelwhereby the head end of the paper shell is prevented from beingcollapsed during the reducing-operation. After the shell is now reducedin the manner above described, the metal cap or head is placed thereonby a cap plunger C provided at its forward end with a small projection 0which is adapted to enter a central aperture in the head portion of thecap (see Fig. 5).

In the next operation, the backing-plate B is replaced by another plateB which permits the shell to be moved bodily through the holder H untilthe end of the shell strikes the bottom 6 of the base-plate B, at whichtime the head 12 of the metal cap 12 will be seated against a shoulder hof the holder H. This movement is im arted to the shell 10 by a seatingplunger the forward end of which preferably fills the recess h" of theholder H, and which is also provided with a piercing point 8 whereby thebase-wad is pierced for the reception of the primer, while at the sametime the base-wad is being compressed by a forcer or compression-plungerF which is provided at its front end with a small recess f so as toclear the piercer point as the latter forces its way through the wad. Itwill be seen that by virtue of the movement of the plunger S against theouter surface of the head of the metal cap 12, the bead of the cap willalso be compressed and thus impinge on the rim of the paper shell which,through the compression of the wad 11 has been forced into the bead, thebead being now standard size.

The next operation is that of inserting the primer 14 having a beveledhead portion 14' and the body portion of which is of suflicient lengthas to project beyond theinner surface of the basewad 11. It should beunderstood that the opening established by the piercer s is slightlysmaller than the size of the body portion of the primer 14, so that whenthe latter is pushed into place by the plunger D (Fig. 7) said insertingmovement will tend to still more densify or compress the base-wad and,therefore, establish a firm union between all of the several parts, andthus decrease all liability of blowing out, to a minimum.

It will be noted that the base-wad 11 is shown slightly cup shaped onthe head-side thereof. This construction is deemed preferable for thereason that when the compression of the wad takes place between theplunger F and the plunger S (see Fig. 6) both side faces of the wad arestraightened out and the wad itself will, therefore, be somewhatdensified besides the compression which it receives and whereby itsoriginal thickness is'reduced from that shown in Fig. 5 substantially tothat shown in Fig. 6. Furthermore, this straightening-out action of thewad faces has a tendency of forcing the eX-- treme end of the papershell into the interior of the bead of the metal shell or cap 12, sothat, therefore, the metal cap, the head-end of the paper shell, andalso the wad, are what may be termed locked together as clearly shown inFig. 7 in which it will be noted that the rear portion of the wad fillsor fits into the main body and thus forms a shoulder at the point wherethe paper shell is reduced to receive the metal cap.

I claim:

1. The method of applying the metal cap or head to the shell whichcomprises, first; the insertion of the base-wad into the shell for adistance substantially equal to the length of the cap, and then crimpingthe end of the shell projecting beyond the wad.

2. The method of applying metal caps to shells which comprises theinsertion of the basewad into the open end of the shell for a distancesubstantially equal to the length of the cap, inserting a mandrel intothe open head-end of the shell to gage the reduction of the shell atthat point, and then reducing the cap-receiving end of the shell so asto adapt the latter to receive the cap. 3. The improved method ofcapping the shells of cartridges which comprises the insertion of thebase-wad into the shell for a depth substantially equal to the length ofthe cap, then reducing the cap-receiving end of the shell, then placingthe cap on said reduced end, and then forcing said w'ad into said cappedend.

4. The improved method of capping the ends of cartridgeshells whichcomprises the reduction of the shell-end, then placing the cap thereon,then forcing the base-wad into place within the capped portion of theshell and simultaneously therewith piercing the wad for the reception ofthe primer.

5. The improved method of capping the ends of cartridge-shells whichcomprises the reduction of the shell-end, then placing the cap thereon,then forcing the base-wad into place within the capped portion of theshell and simultaneously therewith piercing the base-wad for thereception of the primer, and also compressing said wad so as to formannular lips to engage shoulders formed on the reduced end of the shellbody.

6. The improved method of capping the ends of cartridge-shells whichconsists in reducing the shell end, then placing the cap thereon, thenforcing the base-wad into place within the capped portion of the shelland simultaneously therewith piercing the basewad and forming acountersunk recess in the cap and wad for the reception of the primer.and also compressing the wad and the head of the cap and to establish aclose union be tween the shell, the cap, the wad and the primer in onecontinuous cycle of operations.

CHARLES A. BAILEY.

Witnesses J. V. BIGSBY, C. F. SoHMELz.

